


Songwriting and Shows

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26710048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex and Jack work on a song together on the day of a show.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 1





	Songwriting and Shows

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the Dirty Work era!

“Hey Alex, I think Zack and I are going to grab an early lunch before we have to be in the venue for soundcheck and everything, do you want to join us?” Rian asked, walking into the front lounge of the bus, where Alex had been writing out some song ideas for the past hour.  
“I think I’m going to pass for now. Jack said he wanted to do some writing with me today, so I want to be here whenever he finally wakes up,” Alex replied.  
“Okay, no problem. Why don’t we bring you guys some food so you can eat something after soundcheck?” Rian offered, as Zack walked into the lounge.  
“That would be great, actually. You know I’m not picky, and I bet Jack would be fine with anything, too,”  
“Cool, well we’ll be at the venue on time, see you guys around two,” Zack said, as he followed Rian off of the bus.   
Alex considered waking Jack up so they could finally get to work, but he knew how hard it could be to get a good amount of sleep on the road, so he decided to just let him be. He got up from the table and walked over to the kitchenette, wanting a second cup of coffee. Once his coffee was done, he went back over to the table, and reopened his songbook, continuing to work on the melody he’d started before talking to Rian.   
About twenty minutes later, he heard a groan come from the bunk area, and figured that meant that Jack was finally walking up. After a few more minutes, footsteps started to come out to the front lounge, as Jack finally walked over to where Alex was.  
“Hey, you’re finally up! I’ve been playing around with some verses and melodies, but I definitely still want your help putting all of it together,” Alex excited explained, as Jack started to make himself a coffee.  
“That sounds great, man. I’m excited to see what you’ve come up with,” Jack replied in a raspy voice.   
Before Alex could say anything, Jack started to cough, but quickly calmed himself down.  
“That didn’t sound good, neither did your voice. I think you’re coming down with something,”  
“Nah, I’m not. It’s just my allergies,”  
“Are you sure? You look pretty exhausted, now that I’m really taking a good look at you,”  
“I’m sure, I always get bad allergies around this time of year, I’ll be fine. Now, let’s talk about something important; your song,” Jack suggested, sitting at the table with Alex.  
“Cool. Oh, by the way, we have to be in the venue at two, so we can work until about one thirty,”  
“Sounds good, so is this song-“   
Jack cut himself off with a coughing fit, and Alex rubbed his friend’s back until it finally went away.  
“As I was saying, is this song upbeat, or more of a ballad?”  
“Um, I was thinking upbeat, but I’d want it to still work acoustically. I have this storyline of these two people in their hometown who want to break out of it and do something with their lives, and really want to express themselves. I was kind of thinking about the two of us when I started to write it,” Alex explained, showing Jack his songbook.  
“I like it so far. Do these two characters have names?”  
“Well, I was playing around with words that really express us as individuals, and as a band, but when we were, like, fifteen. Reckless and brave keep bouncing around in my head. I just have to figure out how to get it to fit in the song in a decent way,”  
“Well, let’s figure it out!” Jack exclaimed, sneezing. For the next two hours, the two of them continued to work on the song, getting it close to finished.   
At one thirty, Alex shut his songbook.  
“Hey, we need to get ready for the day, you can have the first shower, if you want,” Alex offered.  
“That sounds good, I’ll try to be quick,” Jack said, his voice even raspier now than it had been earlier.   
He quickly made his way out of the front lounge, leaving Alex still sitting at the table. While Jack got ready, Alex could hear him coughing even more, and could tell that he was getting worse. Alex knew that Jack was just going to keep saying he was fine at this point.   
Eventually, Alex started to get ready, and he walked out to the front lounge to leave at one twenty-five, and saw Jack sitting on the couch, looking at something on his phone.  
“Are you ready to go into the venue?” Alex asked,  
“Yeah, let’s do it,”   
Jack got up, and the two of them started to make their way over to the back door of the venue.  
“Oh, Rian and Zack said they were going to bring us some food from the place they got lunch at,”  
“That’s good, since we don’t have much time in between our soundcheck and meet and greet,”   
They finally walked into the venue, and saw Rian and Zack already onstage, with their instruments.   
“Let’s get this done, I want the food you guys brought us!” Alex exclaimed, as he grabbed his guitar, and walked onstage.   
Jack followed Alex, and they started their soundcheck. Overall, it went well, aside from Jack’s coughing, which was becoming much more frequent.  
“That was really good, I think the show is going to be great. Jack, you’ve been coughing a lot, are you okay?” Rian asked as soon as they finished.  
“Yeah, just some allergies,” Jack replied, his voice even worse now.  
“Well, as long as you’re sure. Our meet and greet starts in about an hour from now,” Zack stated, as they all walked offstage and took off their instruments.   
“Sounds good, I think I’m going to work on that song some more while I eat, I’ll be in the green room,” Alex decided, before making his way over to the room where his food was.   
For the next hour, Alex ate his lunch, and worked on his song. By the time he had to head to where the meet and greet was, the song was almost perfect.   
Once the hour had passed, he went out to the main room of the venue, and saw his bandmates, and he could see that Jack looked even more exhausted. He really wanted to ask him if he was sure that he was okay, but he knew it would have to wait until after their meet and greet at this point.  
“Now that Alex is finally here, we can go over to the picture backdrop,” Rian pointed out, as the four of them went over to where they were supposed to be and started meeting fans.   
This was something they all loved to do, but everyone could tell that Jack didn’t seem as into it as he normally was.   
After a little more than an hour had gone by, their meet and greet was over, and they went into a green room backstage. They hung out with their opening band and crew, talking and playing drinking games.   
Once it was showtime, Jack’s voice was practically gone, but he was still telling people that he was fine, and that it wasn’t a big deal.  
“Okay, let’s go have a great show, and since tomorrow is an off day, we can stay out at the bars around here really late!” Alex exclaimed, seeing his bandmates’ faces light up at that idea.   
Seconds later, they took the stage and immediately started into their first song.   
Throughout their set, the fans gave off an incredible energy, it felt like more than normal. This energy surge gave Alex something to play off of for the entire show. He exchanged less banter with Jack because of this, and he started to forget how concerned he’d been for Jack earlier in the day.   
Once they’d finished their last song, Alex decided that he wanted more, and they played tow more songs, and Dear Maria for a second time, so they could still close with it. After this, Alex threw his pics and setlist into the crowd, and stayed onstage to interact with them for quite a while.  
“Come on, man, we have to get going,” Rian eventually said to Alex, hoping that he’d listen.  
“Shit, I guess you’re right, let’s go,” Alex replied.   
After a few more waves, Alex walked offstage with Rian and Zack, quickly realizing that Jack wasn’t with them.  
“Wait, where’s Jack? I never saw him leave the stage,” Alex pointed out.  
“I never did, either I’m not sure. Hey, I think we’re going to go ahead and go to the first bar on the strip, text us when you’re on the way,” Zack said, as he walked off with Rian.   
Alex decided to check the bus for Jack, unsure of where else he would’ve wandered off to, so he went out of the venue, and made his way over to the bus.   
“Jack, are you in here?” Alex asked once he got on the bus.   
He never got a response, but he did hear some coughing coming from the back lounge, so he made his way over there. When he got there, he saw Jack laying on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, watching something on the TV.  
“Hey man, how’re you feeling?” Alex sat down with his friend.  
“Not great. I really did think that this was just allergies, but I realized that I was wrong during the show. Everything feels so much worse,” Jack explained, coughing some.  
“You look worse now, too. When did you come to the bus?”  
“I came here right after we finished the very last song. Those extra songs you wanted to do were kind of a lot for me, but those fans definitely deserved it. Sorry for sneaking off, but I had an awful headache, and just couldn’t stay out there any longer,”  
“No need to apologize for that. To be honest, I kind of forgot that you weren’t feeling great, the energy from the crowd gave me such a rush, and it slipped my mind. It’s a good thing we have a day off tomorrow, so you can rest. Hey, do you want some tea? It’ll probably help your throat some,” Alex suggested.  
“That would be great, but don’t feel like you have to stay here with me. If you want to go out with Rian and Zack, go ahead,”  
“Nah, I’ll stay here with you for tonight. You’ve done the same for me quite a few times, so I’m glad I can do this for you now,” Alex replied, making them both smile.  
“Well, that sounds great, thanks, Alex,”  
“No problem, I’ll be right back,”   
Alex got up from the couch, and made his way to the kitchenette. While he waited for the water to heat up, he texted Rian and Zack to let them know that he’d be staying in with Jack for the night.   
Once the tea was ready, he grabbed both mugs, since he’d made some for himself, then went back to the back lounge.   
“Thanks for making this for me, Alex, I appreciate it,” Jack said, before taking a sip of the tea.   
“You’re welcome, hopefully it’ll help you feel a bit better,”  
“I hope so, and I hope it helps with my voice, too. It hasn’t been this shot in a very long time,” Jack continued, coughing after.  
“You should really stop talking so it doesn’t get worse. We can just watch what you had on before I got here,”   
Jack grabbed the remote and turned the show back up, and they started to watch it.   
Eventually, Alex turned to Jack, and noticed that he was shaking.  
“Dude, are you shivering?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah, it’s freezing in here,”  
“No, it’s not, that’s just you. Why don’t I sit closer and try to warm you up?”   
“No, I don’t want you to-“   
“Shh, rest your voice. I’ll be fine, just scoot over some for me,”   
Alex moved closer to Jack, and let him get comfortable next to him.  
“Isn’t this better?” Jack just nodded, not wanting to use his voice again.  
“That’s what I thought. Just focus on getting some rest,”   
The two of them stayed silent, and Jack eventually fell asleep on Alex’s shoulder. Alex didn’t want to move and wake up his friend, so he got as comfortable as he could, before drifting off, as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this was an idea I got from a quote prompt blog! I'm going to try to post more often, even though school is getting a bit more intense. As always, please send in requests if you have them, I always love writing them. Thanks for reading, it means the world. Lots of love, Liv.


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